


Brothers in Arms

by TeetanJaeger



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon Backstory, Gen, Origin Story, Other, Veterans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-07
Updated: 2015-08-25
Packaged: 2018-03-29 09:54:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3891946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeetanJaeger/pseuds/TeetanJaeger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Shingeki no Kyojin story about the Veterans.</p><p>After the disastrous expedition that lead to the death of Levi's only two friends, he's left with no other option than to follow through on his decision to commit fully to the Survey Corps and the follow the enigmatic Erwin Smith in a mission of discovery about the truth about humanity's cage and captors. This is a background story about how the Veterans became Veterans.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Year 844_

                Bright pinks and oranges of a brilliant morning sunrise washed upwards and out across the sky, a wave of vibrant color melting away the oppressive darkness of night. Morning spread, lighting the landscape with the hope of a new day, the promise of a future unfettered by the demons of the past. A day that could be freer than yesterday. Or so it could have been, were it not for the dark, ominous line of Wall Maria far in the distance.

                Levi exhaled, an irritated sigh escaping from his throat as he watched the sunrise from the top of the old run down castle that served as one of the Survey Corps’ headquarters. Being able to watch the sunrise (and the sunset when he wasn’t busy with other duties) was something he decided he would never tire of, not after living the bulk of his life in the Underground. He found the radiance of the colors in the sky mesmerizing, but the beauty was always dampened once Wall Maria’s distant outline took solid shape on the horizon. So close to complete freedom, and yet so far. No matter what humanity was still trapped in these awful walls.

                As the sun crested the Wall Maria’s silhouette, Levi stood and pulled his 3DM grips from their holsters. Every morning, he made a point to vacate his bunk early, suit up, and make his way to the top of northeastern tower just before dawn break. He’d never slept terribly well anyway so being out in time to watch the sunrise was never a trouble. He shot an anchor into the nearby wall and swung down from the tower to land deftly on the ground below, using his gear to guide his descent and finally somersaulting into a landing.

                It had been about two weeks since Levi had made the decision to fully commit to the Survey Corps with no ulterior motives, since the last expedition. A service had been held for the fallen. It was a simple affair without a lot of pomp and circumstance, just an opportunity for the other Scouts to honor the memories of their comrades. Levi appreciated it. He hated the concept of overblown rituals and ceremonies. They only served to dress the living up and make a bigger deal about who made an appearance rather than to actually remember anyone. The bodies that they had succeeded in retrieving were burned. Commander Shadis read the names of the fallen and said some words. Most of the Corps just stood in reverent silence, many of them having attended so many of these ceremonies at this point that they felt nothing but numbness. To his great relief, no one bothered Levi or tried to say any words of false solace to him. Each soldier left the others to mourn in their own ways.

                The survivors from the failed mission had been given leave to re-coop, heal, or visit family. Survey Corps activities were suspended during that time to allow for this. Levi hated the downtime. It meant he had to find ways to occupy his mind lest it to wander into dark places. His dreams were haunted with splashes of blood and wide, vacant eyes. He’d felt the stabbing pain of loss and abandonment before, however the gripping sting of guilt is what kept him awake at night.

                Thus, in an attempt to keep himself from drowning, he spent a lot of his free time exploring the surrounding landscape. He found he really enjoyed horseback riding and was quickly bonding with his steed, a beautiful chestnut gelding named Soren. Other times he could be found training by running the obstacle course, or working out, or even cleaning something he’d found that needed it (and sometimes things that didn’t need it by average standards). Anything that he could concentrate on was a welcome distraction from the darkness waiting at the back of his mind to creep into his thoughts. One thing he didn’t do was interact with any of the other soldiers who’d also chosen to stay in the barracks during that time. Of course, there wasn’t many and they all seemed to want time alone as well. But Levi made a point of avoiding contact with other humans as much as possible.

                The present morning, however, marked the first day that the entire Corps was back from its leave and activities could begin again as normal. This, of course, meant Levi couldn’t avoid the rest of the Corps any longer and that he’d be forced to interact with people he barely knew and he was pretty sure didn’t appreciate his presence. Not that he really cared what they thought about him. But being alone in a crowd a people was never an easy task.

                Ever punctual, he made sure he’d given himself enough time to stow his 3DM gear in its storage locker and arrive at morning muster precisely on time. He avoided eye contact with any of the other soldiers who were also arriving to the lineup, but they did the same. Despite the time off, the remaining Corps still looked worn. Regardless they all stood at attention determined as ever and ready to continue. Levi had to admire the dedication he could see on each of their faces from the edges of his vision.

                After they had all fallen into formation in the early morning sunlight, Commander Shadis exited the building and began walking over to them, thinning hair blowing lightly in the soft breeze and clutching a clipboard in one hand.

                “ATTEEEEENTION!” A voice called out in the cool air and the entire Corps snapped into a salute in unison. Shadis came to a halt in front of them, consulting the papers attached to the clipboard.

                “Welcome back from your leave, soldiers! Congratulations on surviving the previous expedition. If this was your first expedition, according to tradition you can now consider yourselves full-fledged Scouts,” Shadis bellowed out in a solemn voice, lacking any tone of actual congratulations. Levi frowned at the concept as Shadis continued. “Due to the toll this expedition took, we will be reassigning squads. Each Squad Leader will read off the names of the soldiers now in their unit. After everyone is informed of their new assignments, you will be dismissed to meet with your leaders and begin getting your flabby bodies back into shape after your vacation.”

                 _Great_ , Levi thought, suppressing a sigh. _I have to go through this training crap again_.

                “First up, Squad Erwin!” Shadis barked as Squad Leader Erwin Smith stepped forward.

                “On my squad,” Erwin shouted so he could be heard all the way to the back row as he read from his paper. “Levi!”

                 _Saw that coming_ , Levi mused.

                “Mike Zacharius! Zoe Hanji! Nanaba…”

                Levi glanced down the row at Hanji and Mike who stood next to one another in the lineup. Mike stood stoically, eyes facing forward. Levi hadn’t spoken to him much, especially after the confrontation with Erwin during the last expedition. Levi wasn’t entirely sure what to make of him.

                Hanji, though still standing at perfect attention, grinned widely. Levi remembered clearly the awkward conversation they’d had while on the expedition and Hanji’s apparent infatuation with his fighting style. Just at that moment, he caught Hanji glancing over at him. Levi frowned and averted his eyes back to the front, avoiding eye contact. He saw Hanji nudge Mike out of the corner of his eye.

                 _This is going to be tough..._

                After all of the new squad rosters had been announced, the Corps was dismissed to their respective new squad leaders. Most of the soldiers present knew one another already so introductions weren’t generally needed as the squads broke off. Levi, on the other hand, only knew of the names by reputation or in passing. As such, he had no idea what he was getting himself into as he walked over to the group of soldiers comfortably chatting and joking with one another.

                “Welcome to the squad, Levi!” A short haired blonde woman welcomed him. “I’m Nanaba, I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure of being introduced yet.”

                 _Ugh, I’m going to have to be social. Farlan used to deal with this shit…_ He quickly shut off the thought and pushed it to the back on his mind.

                “Hi,” Levi replied, curtly, crossing his arms.

                “I’ve heard a lot about you,” Nanaba said in friendly voice. Levi looked at her, warily. He hated making conversations with new people.

                “Oh?”

                “Yeah, I’m looking forward to working with you!”

                Levi opened his mouth to respond with some quip about being disappointed when he became aware of someone standing too close for comfort to him on his left who began sniffing him. Levi reflexively dodged to the right and swung his fist to strike at the perpetrator, body moving before his mind consciously registered the action. Mike caught his wrist before his fist connected with Mike’s jaw. Levi blinked, shocked that his fist had been caught.

                “Hm,” The man said. “Thought so.”

                “What the fuck, Mike?” Levi blurted out. If he wasn't anxious before, his nerves were certainly on edge now from being snuck up on. Rarely did that situation ever end well in the Underground.

                “You’ll need to excuse him, he gathers information by scent if you didn’t know already. You’ll get used to it,” Nanaba said, waving the information off.

                “You have impressive reflexes,” Mike said calmly as Levi pulled his hand free.

                “Try not to sniff me, would you?” Levi mumbled in an irritated tone as he rubbed his wrist. He wasn’t entirely proud of the fact that he’d struck out without realizing it. Old habits die hard. He had no intention of letting the rest of them on to that fact of course, but the people gathering around him to meet the new guy was making him feel anxious and uncomfortable. He began looking for an exit strategy as Nanaba went through and introduced him to the rest of the group. In total, Erwin had selected twelve people for his squad.

                “I think that’s everyone. Wait, where’s Hanji?” Nanaba looked around.

                “Oh, I saw Hanji’s brothers stop by, I think they’re all speaking over there,” Mike spoke up, indicating to Hanji animatedly speaking with two taller men who definitely looked like they were related to the spastic soldier bouncing in front of them.

                “Brothers?” Levi raised an eyebrow.

                “Soldiers!” Erwin exclaimed as he approached his newly formed squad. They all snapped to attention. “At ease. Wait…Hanji!”

                “Coming Squad Leader!” Hanji exclaimed, saying a quick goodbye to the two men and running over to join the squad. Hanji gave a quick salute. “Apologies, Erwin!”

                “Its fine,” Erwin continued. “Welcome to the squad, everyone. I realize that this is coming on the heels of tragedy, but in the face of that darkness I look forward to being able to work with you all. I selected each of you for your unique skill sets and I believe that together we will be able to accomplish a great deal.”

                Levi crossed his arms. There was a part of him that had trouble trusting authority figures, but regardless, he felt compelled to follow this infuriating man standing before them.

                “Now, I realize most of you have worked together for some time, and others of you may be new to working in this sort of team structure,” Erwin continued. “As such we will be spending the next few weeks in drills and exercises to get used to working with one another and build some team working skills.”

                 _This is going to be miserable_ , Levi thought as Erwin continued to divulge his training plans.

 

* * *

 

                “Trust falls,” Erwin instructed. “Help build the foundations of trust with your fellow squad members. You need to be able to trust that your teammates will catch you should you fall. And the probability of one of us falling is extremely high. So, partner up with someone you have not worked closely with before. We’ll trade off partners shortly.”

                “You have got to be fucking shitting me,” Levi said derisively as everyone started to pair off.

                “Need a partner?” A bubbly voice asked him. Levi looked over to see Hanji leaning forward towards him with a grin. Levi was about to open his mouth to respond when Mike stepped in.

                “Levi was going to partner with me, Hanji.”

                “Oh, ok! Maybe another time then!” Hanji smiled, turned on heel, and then walked away to ask someone else.

                “I don’t remember saying I would partner with you,” Levi said curtly as he shot a sidelong glance a Mike. Mike simply shrugged.

                “Either me or you get barraged by Hanji’s constant questions the entire time you’re trying to fall,” Mike offered. Levi had to admit that he was right. He had no desire to deal with that.

                “Do we actually have to do this shit?” Levi asked with a sneer, looking around the pairs already starting to catch one another.

                “Erwin has a very particular way of training his squads,” Mike responded matter of factly. Levi waited for him to continue speaking, but that was all Mike said, not offering any further information. Levi sighed.

                “I don’t like being touched,” Levi stated. Mike nodded.

                “I know. But you’re going to have to figure out a way to deal with it to get through these exercises. Erwin finds trust to be of the utmost importance, so you’re not going to get out of this. I can fall first though if it helps.”

                Levi sighed.

                “Tch, fine.”

                And so Levi, previously one of the biggest players in the Underground crime scene, stood catching a tall blonde soldier in the middle of a training field in the height of summer. He felt absolutely ridiculous. Regardless, he took the task as seriously as he could and caught Mike from progressively further apart distances.

                “It seems like everyone here knows each other really well already,” Levi commented as he glanced around at the other people in the squad.

                “Some more than others. A lot of us were all in the same training class,” Mike responded.

                “Like who?” Levi needed to know the dynamics he was working with.

                “Myself and Hanji for example, we were in the same class. Nanaba and Moblit were in the class right behind us,” Mike explained. “Alright, your turn for falls.”

                Levi made a face.

                “Alright fine,” Levi reluctantly acquiesced and turned around to assume the proper falling position.

                “Don’t forget the calls,” Mike chided.

                “Do we really have to do the shitty calls?” Levi snapped. “I mean seriously in the time it takes to say all that stupid shit I could have fallen to the ground and broken my neck already.”

                “Good thing it’s not a long fall for you then,” Mike quipped so dryly, that it took Levi a second to realize the joke.

                “What the hell did you just say?” Levi turned his head to shoot daggers from his eyes at Mike. Mike simply smiled good-naturedly at him.

                “SWITCH PARTNERS!” Erwin called.

                “Well, that’s my cue,” Mike said as he turned to go.

                “LEVI!” Hanji exclaimed enthusiastically, running over. Levi’s eyes widened slightly.

                “Wait, Mike…”

                “Squad Leaders' Orders,” is all Mike responded with as he found another partner.

                “Now is the time of reckoning,” Hanji said with a slightly creepy smile, light glinting off the goggles looking down at Levi.

                “Wha-what? What reckoning?” Levi tensed, not sure what the crazy speckled one before him was up to.

                "Time for you to fall," Hanji grinned. "Don't worry, I'll catch you."

                "I don't like to be touched," Levi repeated darkly. _What is with this guy? Must want something_.

                "I understand, but it is part of the exercise and you're not going to get out of it. If you don't do it then Erwin's going to make you be first in line to fall off the roof of the stable while the entire squad catches you," Hanji responded, matter of factly.

                Levi froze upon hearing that possibility.

                "Alright, fine. I'll do the stupid fall."

                "Excellent!" Hanji chirped, moving into catching position. "Ready to catch!"

                Levi groaned inwardly as he moved into falling position. Just do this couple times and then you'll be done with it.

                "Ready to fall."

                "Fall away!"

                "Falling."

                Levi leaned back, concerned only for a moment that he was going to fall flat on his ass. But Hanji caught him as promised and pushed him gently back to standing.

                "Not that hard, right?"

                "Speak for yourself," Levi mumbled.

                "So," Hanji chatted on, taking that as a cue to continue speaking while taking a step back so the fall was further. "Have you given any thought to what we talked about on the expedition?"

                _I knew it._

                "No. I told you, I can't teach that sort of thing. It just... Happens."

                Levi fell again. Hanji caught him again.

                "Maybe we could work together then!" Hanji suggested excitedly, taking another step back. He knew it was part of the exercise, but the further he had to fall the more anxious Levi found himself. The chit chat wasn't helping.

                "I really don't think my fighting style is going to make that much of a difference," Levi said.

                Levi fell again. Hanji caught him, but this time didn't set him back right away and the distance of the fall has made it so his entire center of gravity was reliant on Hanji pushing him back up unless he wanted to fall to the ground.

                "Are you kidding?" Hanji's head moved closer to Levi's and he glanced out of the corner of his eye to see the owner of the voice. He couldn't help but notice how filthy Hanji's goggles were. "We all went through years of training, and some of us have been around for longer than that. None  of us can match your self taught skill on the 3DM gear and it's our primary weapon against the Titans!"

                "Would you let me up now?" Levi grumbled gritting his teeth, extremely uncomfortable at the vulnerable position he was in. Hanji obliged and let him stand but didn't drop the subject.

                "There is so much you can teach us..." Hanji set a hand on his shoulder. Levi reflexively swatted the hand off and stepped away, at least this time restraining himself from punching Hanji out.

                "I don't know what the hell you saw through all the shit on your glasses, but I'm not any sort of savior who's going to suddenly teach the entire fucking military how to do what they should have been doing from the beginning. So fuck off, and leave me the hell alone!" And with that, Levi stormed off the training field. He needed to get away from these people as fast as possible.

                 "Levi! We're not done here!" Erwin called after him when he saw Levi leaving.

                  "I sure as shit am!"

                  Erwin sighed and looked over to Hanji, who shrugged sheepishly back at him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Squad Erwin begins developing their team work skills in the field. And Levi learns that Erwin is not the only plotter in the Corps.

              Levi's punishment for walking out on training was mucking out all of the stalls for his new squad’s horses. He didn't necessarily mind this as punishment; Cleaning helped give him a sense of control and order to his world which definitely helped settle his nerves after the ridiculous trust fall exercise that morning. Being in the stalls also allowed him to spend more time with the horses which he preferred  a great deal. Horses were fairly serene animals who didn't take shit from anyone. Most importantly they weren't people. And people were the last thing he felt like dealing right right now.

             "Hey now, knock it off," Levi said to Soren after the horse nudged him for the third time in a row. "I told you, I'll get you a treat after I finish... And take a shower. Ugh."

Soren persisted until Levi stopped what he was doing to pet the animal. A rare small smile crossed his lips as he did.

              “Alright, alright! I promise, after I bathe, I’ll get you an apple. Deal?” The horse huffed lightly in response. “Alright, deal.”

              Levi finished with his punishment duties not long after, though he had already missed dinner by then. He wasn’t worried as the kitchen was left open for the soldiers to grab snacks if they needed, especially since many of the more senior officers apparently had habits of working late into the night and it wasn’t uncommon for the “full scouts” to have troubles sleeping. Despite being the military, it seemed the Corps made the best effort it could to provide for their soldiers.

_First things first_ , he thought. _I’m filthy and need to bathe_.

              To get to the barracks from the stables required walking through one of the office hallways. It was typically a high traffic area that people walked through all the time so no one paid Levi much mind. In fact, as it was after dinner hours, there weren’t many other people to be seen in the area. Levi’s main focus was getting to the shower so he paid no attention to anything else in the hallway until he heard someone speak his name.

              “Are you sure about this Levi character, Erwin?” Commander Shadis demanded from behind the cracked door of one of the offices in the hallway. Levi slowed his walk down to listen in more closely. Luckily, his years of experience in the Underground had left him light footed so no one noticed his footsteps. “He doesn’t even have a last name.”

              “Of course I’m sure. He’s going to be a huge asset to the Corps,” Erwin responded confidently. Levi huffed quietly to himself. _Sure, huge asset. How are you planning on using me?_

              “I don’t know Erwin. You made a huge gamble bringing those three in and you did it mostly to spit in the eye of some noble in the capital. He’s a thug from the Underground. We don’t know what crimes he committed down there or even what he’s capable of outside of murdering Titans. And attempting to murder you,” Shadis responded gruffly. Levi clenched his fists to stop himself from storming in the room and giving the Commander an earful. He waited for Erwin to agree with him.

              “He had good reason to. I’m confident we're past that now and I am not holding it against him, " Erwin stated firmly. “You shouldn’t either.” Levi blinked. That was not response he expected.

              "Are you sure? It's a safety concern for the rest of the Corps. We don't even know exactly what happened with the rest of his squad..."

              "I hope you're not insinuating what I think you are. It was fairly clear that they were killed by Titans," Erwin cut Shadis off, warningly. Levi ground his teeth. _How dare that pompous asshole..._

              "Yes, but what happened prior to the Titans is unclear. Some of the best fighters in the Corps to not stand a chance... It's suspicious." Shadis said. Livid, Levi reached for the door handle, not about to stand for being accused of murdering his friends for another second.

              "I'll thank you to not accuse my squad of crimes they did not commit," Erwin said in a stern, authoritative voice which made Levi stop in his tracks. He spoke clearly and concisely, only raising his voice slightly to make his point. "I am confident in every member of my squad and will stand behind their integrity."

              Levi stood stunned that someone would stand up for him like that to the Commander, hand still poised in midair to grab the door handle. There was a brief moment of silence from inside the room.

              "... Very well, Erwin," Shadis responded sheepishly. Levi started to wonder who was actually in charge of the Survey Corps here. Erwin was definitely up to something. "So you really think you can convince them of another expedition so soon?"

              "We had no way to anticipate the weather on the last one. It was a freak storm that is uncommon, so our set back was not a result of anything we did wrong. I think we can convince them that this would just be a continuation of the last expedition, as we were proving successful up until the storm came in."

              "Alright, then I support your proposal. I'll set up a meeting tomorrow."

              The conversation devolved into talks about supply needs and unit assignments from there, so Levi slowly backed away and continued his way towards his bunk to get a change of clothes for the showers. He spent his shower time trying to figure out what game Erwin was playing.

 

* * *

 

              Training continued the next day with running 3DM gear drills (and luckily no more trust falls, to Levi's great relief). Again, the goal was to get used to working with the new squad and fall into a natural rhythm with the other soldiers. Again, Levi found himself having difficulty with this.

              The drills started simply enough: Just run the obstacle course and strike the regular targets. The obstacle course was set up in the forest nearest to the base. It consisted of three legs and had various types of target that could be moved around for different scenarios. The first run counted individual kill counts. The second broke the squad up into smaller teams where the team was scored together. Then they started receiving scenarios. Each team would be placed in different parts of the course and instructed as to what was happening and what they saw before them. They were to build a strategy to deal with the obstacles in front of them and meet up with the full squad at the end of the course.

              Levi was in a team with Mike, Nanaba, and Gelgar. Their scenario: The supply cart they had been protecting was attacked by an Abnormal. They needed to retrieve the gas in the cart and make it to the rendezvous point with minimal casualties. The target before them was one of the few “Abnormal” targets on the course. It was rudimentary, but the best the Corps could come up with given their resources. The target was designed with wooden limbs that were controlled by an operator so they could move in an unpredictable manner and was set on tracks so it could move from side to side. If any team member got tagged by the limbs, they were considered a casualty. Levi did his best to not scoff at the sad excuse for an Abnormal and take the exercise seriously. He wasn’t in the mood to muck out the stalls again.

              "I think our best option is to distract the Abnormal, grab the gas, and then make a dash for it," Nanaba was proposing.

              "It's an Abnormal, though. We have no way of predicting if it will pay attention to the distraction or not," Gelgar countered.

              "We could just kill it. It's only a wooden target, I've taken shits harder than slicing that thing," Levi responded. Gelgar choked off an irritated sigh.

              "Look Levi, I know you're not used to these kinds of drills. We're supposed to pretend this is a real life situation. A real Abnormal is going to be harder to kill than that target," Gelgar responded, slightly patronizing. Levi raised an eyebrow at him, feeling challenged.

              "Then I still say we try and kill it. Get it out of the way, then the rest of the squad following behind us won't have to worry about it," He said, a little testily.

              "Standard protocol is to avoid encounters with Abnormals if possible," Nanaba replied, as if reading from a text book.

              "Clearly that's not going to work here," Levi pointed out. “Its in the way, we need to encounter it somehow.”

              "Alright, fine. We split up. Two of us go after the abnormal..."

              "No. I’ll kill the abnormal, the rest of you get the supplies and we’ll meet up further away,” Levi instructed.

              “That defeats the purpose of working as a team, Levi,” Mike pointed out quietly, having not spoken much until that point. Levi glanced at him.

              “I’m clearly the better suited one to fight the abnormal,” Levi retorted. Nanaba looked up at him.

              “Your two friends gave you an assist during the last expedition,” She said tentatively. “We can assist too if you direct us.”

              Levi blinked, not anticipating being asked to lead like that.

              “I’m not-”

              “This is ridiculous. He’s way out of his depth there. They got lucky, but he’s not some great strategist,” Gelgar exclaimed. Levi’s eyes flashed. He’d had enough of this hotshot. If him leading is what they wanted...

              “Myself, Nanaba, and Mike will go after the Abnormal. Mike, immobilize the legs, Nanaba you should be able to distract it by trying to strike from the front. I’ll go in for the kill,” Levi directed decisively.

              “Wait, what about me?!” Gelgar asked.

              “You,” Levi smirked slightly. “You can retrieve the gas supplies.”

              “What?!”

              “I like it, lets go with it,” Mike declared. Nanaba nodded enthusiastically. Gelgar just huffed, resigned to his fate.

              “Alright, lets go,” Levi said, firing off the anchors of his 3DM gear and flying off the tree branch they were talking in. Mike and Nanaba took off right behind him. Gelgar grumbled and took off toward the supply cart.

              Levi took stock of the situation in front of him as he landed closer to the target. There were limitations to his plan given the set up of the exercise; because the targets were built mostly out of plywood, sinking the anchors directly in the “Titan” was less of an option and generally frowned upon by the team that kept maintenance on the course. But the ample amount of trees in the area gave them plenty of room to maneuver. He was about to give the signal to begin when a glint of light through the trees caught his eye. He squinted his eyes, trying to figure out what it was he had seen.

              “Levi?” Mike landed next to him and pulled his attention back to the task at hand. Levi ignored the glint for now, nodding to Mike who launched himself around the legs of the target, narrowly missing being hit by the “arm” as the operator swung it around to strike. Mike grabbed a rope anchored nearby and slipped it around a peg which stopped the target from being able to move along the tracks.

              “Nanaba!”

              “Right!” Nanaba swung in front of the target, and the operators running the target started swing the arms to tag her. She ducked the first swing and reversed directions to keep the its attention. Levi lept out of the tree and went into for the kill.

              Nanaba reversed directions again, but her maneuvering wasn’t as deft or agile as Levi’s. As he came in to strike, he saw that Nanaba wasn’t going to maneuver out of the way of the arm in time. In a split second decision he spun in midair, kicked off a tree, and redirected his momentum to kick the arm out of the way from striking Nanaba.

              “HIT! Casualty!” The operator working the Titan target declared. Levi’s eyes went wide and he landed on top of the striking region.

              “WHAT?!”

              “You touched the arm, that counts as a casualty,” The operator replied nonchalantly.

              “That was not a killing blow! That doesn’t count as fucking casualty!”

              “Those are the rules, Private!” The operator responded. Gelgar chuckled as he landed on a tree branch with the gas cans underarm.

              “Not so badass after all, huh, Levi?” Gelgar retorted. Levi scowled at him.

              “Sorry, Levi!” Nanaba frowned contritely as she landed on a nearby branch.

              “Can you get down off the target, Private? The rest of your team needs to complete the exercise.” Levi growled, about to retort against the ludicracy of the rule when he saw the glint again. Suddenly determined to figure out what it was and irritated with the bullshit casualty rule, he ignored the operator’s barking at him and launched off the target headed towards the glint.

              “Levi?” Nanaba called.

              “Where the hell’s he going? Is he just bailing on training again? For fuck’s sake, man!” Gelgar exclaimed.

              Swinging back behind the tree the glint came from as stealthily as possible, Levi landed lightly in the higher branches and shut off the motor on his gear. He then eased himself down the branches to get closer to the individual that was madly scribbling in a notebook under a pile of messy, slightly greasy looking, tied up brown hair. The glint must have been sunlight reflecting off the lenses of Hanji’s goggles.

               _Ugh, when was the last time this guy bathed?_ Levi thought as he climbed quietly closer to Hanji drawing away. Glancing over the notebook page from where he balanced, Levi could see a collection of small scribbles of what looked like stick figures with different trajectory arrows coming off of them, as well as random numbers that had to be math equations which made no sense whatsoever to the former thug.

              Hanji was mumbling to the notebook page, currently unaware of being watched.

              “That was brilliant, I think I get it...But how did he...hmm…” Hanji looked up from the page and paused upon seeing everyone on Levi’s team but Levi at the obstacle and staring in the same direction. Hanji looked around confused.

              “Shit, where’d he go?”

              “Do you always spy on people, Shitty Glasses?” Levi asked, dropping down on to a branch next to Hanji’s.

              “Ah! There you are, Levi!” Hanji exclaimed with an ever glowing smile, ignoring the insult. “I do when I’m researching them. You’re very stealthy, I suppose I should have expected that.”

              Hanji paused to make another note.

              “Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Levi demanded, glowering at the enthusiastic scientist before him.

              “Well, you said you can’t teach people how to do what you do. So it only made sense that if others could learn from watching you, then we could do the training for the rest of the legion,” Hanji’s insufferable grin beamed at Levi and he began wondering if the idiot ever stopped smiling.

              “You’re insane,” He responded. “No one can do what I do and you’re not going to learn it from making scribbles on a page.”

              Hanji’s smile faded away as the notebook snapped closed and was tucked into a jacket pocket. So it does go away...

              “Is that so?” Hanji said in a challenging tone with hands placed on either hip, expression growing a dark. Levi became concerned. “Well, we’ll just see about that, shall we? RESET THE TARGET!”

              “What the hell are you doing, Four Eyes?” Levi asked. There was no way this idiot was going to try and copy his style.

              “What does it look like, Shorty? I’m about to show you up,” Hanji flashed another grin at him and dropped from the tree branch.

              “What the-...SHORTY?!”

              Hanji ignored Levi and launched the anchors of the 3DM gear, swinging towards the once again fully functional Abnormal target, a shout of jubilation ringing through the woods.

              “WAHOOOOO! HERE WE GO!”

              Levi watched as the crazy moptop swung in front of the Abnormal, just narrowly missing being hit by the arms. Hanji cut back to go for the rope, in a similar move to what Nanaba had attempted before. But instead of relying on just the wires for the turn, as Nanaba had done, Hanji  disengaged the wires and used the momentum to flip in midair, only reshooting the wire after the spin was complete and the firing mechanism was pointed in the correct direction. Hanji shot the anchor directly in the target and swooped low to catch the rope and loop it around the brake peg.

              “HANJI! NOT IN THE TARGET! Dammit!” One of the operators shouted.

              “HAHA! Sorry boys!” Hanji retorted, re-firing the anchor and swinging low and close to the ground out around behind the target, then kicking off a tree to launch back towards the abnormal. Hanji shot overtop the back of the target, slicing through the nape and then somersaulting to expend the excess momentum and land in another tree on the otherside. Levi was stunned. The rest of the scouts in the area cheered.

              “HA! I figured it out,” Hanji crowed, jumping from the tree and landing triumphantly on the now “dead” titan target. “We’ve been trained this entire time to let the wires and motor handle the bulk of the movement in midair for us. The wires guide us and the motor propels us forward, we aim with the X and Y axis triggers on the grips. We don’t move unless we have the gear anchored. What YOU do in addition, however, is utilize the momentum with your full body to aim the anchors. You’re like an acrobat. You don’t rely solely on the anchors as a safety net and move about in the air using all directions without worrying about anchoring first. Its so incredibly impressive and no one has thought of it before! It is almost like you are literally flying!”

              “I only caught part of what you just rattled off, Four Eyes,” Levi responded, using his gear to get closer to the target. “But you’re right. I always found relying on using just the wires and motor to move to be limiting... I didn’t realize no one else did that.”

              Hanji beamed.

              “See, you can teach people, Short Stuff.”

              Levi grumbled and turned his head away, slightly embarrassed.

              “Am I still a casualty?”He asked the operator gruffly.

              “Yes.”

              “Dammit!”

 

* * *

 

              "So were you all having fun running around the obstacle course?" Erwin questioned Levi’s team in front of the rest of the squad when they returned with no trace of amusement in his voice. After Hanji’s demonstration, the team quickly abandoned their assigned strategic teamwork exercise in exchange for maneuvering sprints in an attempt to incorporate the new style. At first, Levi found it embarrassing that they were all trying to copy him but with enough needling the team convinced him to run through some maneuvers that they could mimic. By the time the signal had sounded to return to base, they’d completely forgotten about the other exercise they were supposed to be  running.

              Levi scowled at the impending scolding they were about to receive. _Seriously?_

              "Sir! We were practicing maneuvers, sir!" Nanaba barked out in response.

              "But your assigned task was a strategic teamwork work exercise, was it not?"

              "Hanji interrupted after Levi became a casualty insisting on showing us new maneuvering techniques," Gelgar spoke up, sore that he was getting in trouble. Levi shot him a look, not fond of his attitude.

              "Hanji, what do you have to say for yourself?" Erwin questioned.

              Hanji grinned.

              "I think you'll be impressed, sir."

              "This is stupid," Levi grumbled to himself. Erwin paused and rounded on Levi.

              "You are displeased with the current conversation, Private?" Erwin asked neutrally, not belying his emotions.

              "The point was to build teamwork, right? That's what we were doing, we just weren't playing your stupid game with shitty rules that didn't make sense,” Levi shot back in an agitated voice. A wave of murmurs went through the rest of the Corps. “Oh, right. _Sir_.”

              “Rules that don’t make sense?” Erwin questioned.

              “Levi kicked the Abnormal Titan target in the arm and was pissed that he got counted as a casualty,” Gelgar offered. A snicker went through the watching soldiers.

              “It didn’t strike me, I struck it, it shouldn’t count as a casualty,” Levi retorted hotly. Erwin walked in front of the shorter man and leaned in closer to him. Levi didn’t flinch or move away, having little patience for Erwin’s intimidation tactic.

              “So, hotshot,” Erwin said with a sardonic smile. “You think you can write the rules better?”

              “Not better, just in a way that makes more sense,” Levi retorted in a dangerously quiet tone.

              “Shall we make another deal then? Your team runs the entire obstacle course. If you complete it with no casualties and every target dead, you all get the day off tomorrow. If you fail, the lot of you are on stable duty for a week,” Erwin offered. Levi set his jaw, eyes glinting.

              “Deal, Eyebrows.”

              Another ripple of murmurs went through the rest of the crowd as more Scouts from other squads had started wandering over to see what the commotion was about. Erwin chuckled and took a step back. He looked at the course operators who stood nearby waiting for orders.

              “Reset the obstacle course. Make sure all the targets are ready to go,” Erwin directed. He looked back at the team. “Since Hanji decided to tag along with you, you can have the extra teammate to run through it with you as well.”

              “Yes sir!” Hanji responded in a chipper voice with a quick salute.

              “Dismissed until the course is ready,” Erwin commanded and then strode off to see to the preparations.

              “What the hell, Levi?! You’re just going to volunteer all of us so you can make a goddamned point?” Gelgar blurted out.

              “Stuff it, Gelgar! Quit being such a baby!” Nanaba shot back at him.

              “Stable duty for a week! You’re way out of line, Levi!” Gelgar continued.

              “Oh, I’m sorry Gelgar. I didn’t realize you were actually a member of the Bitch Brigade, I’d mistakenly thought you were a Scout, my bad,” Levi responded coolly, crossing his arm. “Or are the big bad Titan cutouts too much for you to handle without shitting yourself?”

              Gelgar sputtered.

              “I’m one of the most accomplished fighters in this squad!” He retorted.

              “And also a bitch,” Levi responded nonchalantly as Gelgar fumed. “I think we can do it.”

              “I agree with Levi,” Mike responded. “We were doing really well with the sprints we were running earlier.”

              “The course has 20 obstacles,” Hanji started reciting, grabbing a fallen stick and sketching it out in the dirt. “There are 4 Abnormal targets, typically used to practice evasive maneuvers rather than attempting to kill them. And most of the time when we run the course, they’re not all engaged. However, with the five of us, we should be able to take them all out.”

              “Follow my lead, we can take them all out and wipe that smug grin off Eyebrows’ face,” Levi stated confidently.

              “I’m in, tell me where you need me,” Mike responded.

              “Me too!” Nanaba exclaimed. They all turned to look at Gelgar. He sighed.

              “Alright, a day off does sound nice.”

              “YES!” Hanji exclaimed. “Lets get over to the starting point!”

              For the first time in a long while, Levi started to feel a little excited for something.

 

* * *

 

(A/N: I highly recommend "Dead on Arrival" from the SnK soundtrack for this following scene after the flare is fired. ;) <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Nw581EldC0> )

              Levi had spent a lot of time exploring the course during their mandatory time off. It was set up in horseshoe shape, in the center of which was an observatory tower where the entire course could be seen from. They kept specific trees trimmed back so that it the trainers and Squad Leaders could observe all the targets. Erwin currently stood atop the observatory tower with the rest of the squad as Levi, Mike, Nanaba, Gelgar, and Hanji planned at the starting point.

              “ARE YOU READY?” Erwin called from the tower.

              “READY!” Hanji called back.

              With that, Erwin fired a green flare into the to signify the start. All five Scouts fired off their anchors and took off through the course of wooden Titans.

              Levi’s plan was to fan out over the course, Mike and Nanaba on one side, Hanji and Gelgar on the other with Levi running down the center. The other four had picked up the new maneuvers fairly quickly and while they were still far from experts, they kept speed with Levi as the team barreled through the course laying waste to Titans as they went. The rest of the squad cheered from the tower as Team Levi tore through the first leg of the course.

              “First Abnormal, around the bend at 10 o’clock!” Hanji called out to the team.

              “Mike, Nanaba!” Levi shouted.

              “ON IT!” Nanaba trumpeted and the two swung out of formation to take on the Abnormal. The target swung around to face the oncoming soldiers, reaching its arms for them. Mike darted in front of it to grab the attention of the operators working the arms. The right arm swung out to hit Mike, but he disengaged his gear and dropped down in the air before it hit him then fired off one of his anchors underneath the arm so he was pulled up and away from the ground before he hit. As he flew around the target, he grabbed the rope and looped it around the brake peg, stopping the target from being able move on its tracks. In the meantime, Nanaba darted across the back of the target, cleanly and exactly taking out its weak spot. Mike disengaged his gear again, spun in midair and refired the anchor to catch up with the rest of the squad as Nanaba fell in line behind him.

              The squad on the tower went wild with cheers.

              The team continued slaughtering the targets as they went through, the operators on the ground responsible for working the targets barely able to catch up to the next targets in line to move them before the team struck. The team shot periodic commands and words at one another as they went, concentrating fully on the task before them. Levi was in his element as they shot towards the second abnormal. This was the most comfortable he’d felt in ages, completely absorbed in battle at hand.

              “Second abnormal, 3 o’clock!” Hanji called. Without any needing to say anything, Gelgar and Hanji broke off to tackle the target. Hanji darted around the target in a circle, sporadically changing directions with no prior indication, causing the target operators to keep swinging the big piece of hand shaped lumber back and forth which required no small amount of effort. Hanji dodged to the right one last time. As the operators cursed and began cranking the target back around Gelgar somersaulted, landing on the target, slicing through the neck. Hanji and Gelgar sped up the catch back up with the rest of team.

              The last leg of the course was more difficult than the first two with the targets more densely placed. To the roaring cheers of the rest of their squad, the team of five flew, spun, darted, and tumbled their way through the line.

              “Last two!” Levi shouted as they approached the pair of two abnormal targets that marked the end of the course. “Split up!”

              Nanaba, Mike, and Levi broke off to the left, and Hanji and Gelgar took off to the right. The last two targets had more operators handling them so that they could be more responsive to the actions of attacking Scouts. Nanaba and Mike ran distraction, criss crossing in front of the target so closely to one another that if they missed firing the anchors by an inch they would have struck one another. The operatives got nervous watching the two of them criss cross and started to slow down their reactions for fear of miscalculations. While the operators were distracted, Levi struck and sliced through the target’s nape. He flipped up in the air and landed back on top of the target triumphantly.

              Over at the other target, Gelgar ran distraction while Hanji waited for an opening. Gelgar darted back and forth in front of the target, rappelling off the trees and flipping around to change directions as quickly as possible. On his third flip however, he miscalculated the distance and instead of flipping to push off the tree, he collided with it.

              “Gelgar!” Hanji exclaimed.

              “I’m fine!” He shouted back, and he lept up to his feet, quickly flipping the toggles on his grips to re-aim his gear and launch off again. Nothing happened but a hollow click. “Shit.”

              “Gelgar’s damaged his gear,” Mike said, landing next to Levi on the target. The operators started to pull the target around and lift the arm to strike down at Gelgar.

              “Dammit,” Levi cursed and flicked the switches on his grip, launching one of his anchors into the wooden arm of the target.

              “Levi, what are you doing? We can’t touch the arms, remember!” Nanaba called from the ground. He didn’t respond to her, but instead, reversed the motor on his wires, yanking the target arm back towards him so it couldn’t move to the cries of dismay from the operators. That was all the time Gelgar needed to get his gear working again and launch back into the air. Using the distraction, Hanji flew in for the kill.

              The squad exploded into applause.

              “THAT WAS AMAZING!” Nanaba cheered. Mike simply nodded with a smile. Gelgar landed on the ground next to the target Levi stood on.

              “Hey...That was a good move. Thanks,” He said embarrassed.

              “Yeah, well...just don’t get hit by a tree next time, alright?” Levi responded, not sure how else to react to a compliment like that. Gelgar considered him a moment, and then chucked.

              "Yeah I'll look out for them in the future!"

              "Let's head back up to the platform," Mike said and the five Scouts travelled up to the platform where the rest of their team was cheering for them. Levi landed, expecting to be meeting a defeated Erwin who had bet poorly. Instead, Erwin was practically glowing. Levi paused, confused. He never knew what to expect with this guy.

              "Excellent work!" Erwin congratulated them, looking at a stop watch. "You just bested our time for completing the course by ten seconds."

              The squad cheered again.

              "I hope you were all watching closely. We're all going to be learning this new fighting style. This is going to give us a leg up against the Titans and  improve our survival rate a great deal. I want us all to be experts in this before the next mission!" Erwin announced.

              Levi blinked, stunned by Erwin's announcement. Wait, they're retraining the entire squad based on me? He turned and looked at Hanji who cheering along with the rest of the squad.

              "You knew this was the plan the entire time, Four Eyes?"

              "I tried to ask you up front, Short Stuff, but you didn't want to play ball," Hanji grinned. "So what do you think? You in now?"

              Levi paused considering. Much to his own surprise, it didn’t bother him.

              "Yeah. I'm in." 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having successfully secured a day off from training and chores for their success on the training grounds the day before, Levi, Hanji, Mike, Nanaba, and Gelgar get to spend some down time relaxing and engaging in team bonding. Bonding which involves poker and whiskey...

              Dinner was a boisterous affair that evening as news of the new record for completing the training course ran through the Corps like wild fire. Levi quickly learned that beating the time and accuracy record was a widely held goal throughout the Corps as everybody wanted to be the one to hold the prestigious title and get their names on the plaque that apparently hung in the foyer of the headquarters. Levi didn’t even know such a thing existed but sure enough, when he re-entered the building with the rest of the exuberant squad, there hung a square,  dark mahogany plaque with a brass engraved plaque. The date on it revealed that it had been quite some time since someone had beaten the record.

             Levi usually ate by himself but that evening he was invited to sit with his team from training earlier. Nanaba beckoned him over enthusiastically to sit with her, Gelgar, and Mika. He hesitated a moment, seeing the amount of attention the table was getting, but ultimately pushed himself to sit with them. He was going to have to get used to spending time with these people sooner or later and he figured since everyone was in such a good the present was as good a time as ever to start.

             "Seriously, that whole run was amazing!" Another Scout was saying to the table as Levi sat down. "I've never seen anyone move like that before. Wait, aren't you the guy that came up with that style?"

             "Um," Levi responded to the enthusiastic Scout looking at him with stars in his eyes. "I didn't really come up with anything. That's just how I learned to use the gear."

             "Where'd you learn from? I'd love to meet that teacher!"

             "I just taught myself, it's really not a big deal," Levi balked. He hated this attention and started looking for an exit strategy.

             "WHAT?! Man you gotta teach us how to do that! It was so badass!"

             Levi started to open his mouth but was cut off by Hanji setting a tray down next to him.

             "Alright boys, stop drooling over the new guy. Squad Erwin is testing out the new style and then we'll be training it out to the rest of the Legion once we get approval," Hanji answered for him. Levi wouldn't say it, but he was grateful for the intervention.

             "Aw man, I can't wait!" The Scout said excitedly.

             "Run along now so a guy can eat. And might I suggest you try to refrain from staring? It's a little rude you know," Hanji commented, shooing the star struck Scout away.

             "You're one to talk, Four Eyes," Levi mumbled, tearing off a piece of his roll.

             "I do not stare," The scientist responded. "I research."

             "That's Hanji's excuse for most things," Mike piped up, amused. "It's for research."

             "I find it weird you joined the military to do research," Levi stated, sounding more derisive than he really meant to. Hanji didn't seem offended in the slightest. If anything it elicited more enthusiasm.

             "That's the core mission of the Scouting Legion though!" Hanji exclaimed, eyes getting wide with excitement. "The Survey Corps was initially founded to research the Titans and discover more knowledge about them that we could potentially use to more effectively defeat them in the field, possibly even finding a way to push our borders farther! There is so very little we know about the Titans and it is our duty to learn more!"

             Levi took in this information as two other men sat down to join them.

             "Hanji, are you drooling over Titan research again?" The taller of the two asked.

             "Of course I am, it's the reason we're here!"

             "Uh huh, spitting image of Dad aren't you, Hanji?" The shorter man asked.

             "And you would do well to follow suit!" Hanji replied. "Levi, these are my older brothers, Alexis and Shura."

             "So this is Levi," the taller one, apparently Shura, said. He offered a hand. "Heard a lot about you today. You led the team that shattered the obstacle course record, huh? That's really impressive."

             "Uh, thanks," Levi reluctantly shook his hand.

             "Wish we could have seen it, sounds like it was an amazing sight to see," Alexis said.

              "Don't worry, we'll be teaching all of you how soon enough," Hanji jibbed. "Then the youngest will finally be schooling the eldest on the way of things!"

             "Keep dreaming, Hanji," Shura replied. "You'll still always be the baby."

             As Hanji protested, Levi quietly finished eating and excused himself. It was starting to get too loud at the table for him. He deftly slipped out of the mess hall, avoiding any other soldiers trying to worship him. He'd had more enough of that for one day. More than enough for the next month, really. An uneasy feeling that the worship wasn’t going to end anytime soon washed over him however as another set of younger Scouts walked past tittering excitedly about the “mysterious” Scout who led the team that beat the course record. Glancing outside, he decided it would be a good evening to go watch the sunset.

             Turning to head towards the storage room where their gear was stored, Levi noticed Erwin walking towards him in the hall. Hoping he was just going to the mess hall, Levi avoided making eye contact with the squad leader, having no intention of communicating with him. Erwin had a different plan however.

             "Good job on the course today, Levi," Erwin paused as the shorter man walked by. Levi slowed his steps, looking over his shoulder.

             "So you really did plan that whole conspiracy, huh? You told Hanji to watch me like a science project?"

             Erwin turned to face him.

             "I did. And everyone's better for it," Erwin replied honestly.

            "You're really cloak and fucking shadows, aren't you?" Levi finally turned to face him, irritated with Erwin's games. "This how you always run things? Trick people into doing what you want them to?"

            "Hanji asked you up front if you would help. You refused. We need your insight and your strength, Levi. I told you that," Erwin responded to the accusations nonplussed. "Besides, you have excellent leadership qualities."

             "Please," Levi sneered, turning to leave. "You're shitting yourself if you think I'm a leader."

             "Maybe I am, but you certainly led your team to victory today," Erwin said to Levi's retreating back. "And your leadership earned a great deal of respect from your fellow soldiers. I'm willing to bet they'll be looking to you for help a lot more now."

            Levi froze mid step at Erwin's words. He shot a look back over his shoulder, but Erwin had already continued on his way. Levi picked up his pace and beelined for equipment storage.

* * *

             True to Erwin’s word, Levi's team had the next day off from training and chores. Levi was still up at his normal time to watch the sunrise after which he took some time to clean and maintain his gear. After that, though, Levi was at a loss for what to do. Normally he would have gone out to the training grounds on a day off, but they were in use by the other squads. Now that everyone was back, things were kept fairly clean as they kept on top of their chores so there wasn’t anything to clean either.

           Levi couldn’t remember the last time he had absolutely nothing to do. He wasn’t sure he’d ever had a day where he couldn’t find something to do. In the Underground there was always something to fix, something to clean, an opportune shipment to hijack, or some punk attempting to start a turf war. Levi paused in his meandering walk down the hall. It had been awhile since he’d had any thoughts about the other people who still lived down in the Underground. He’d been so focused on getting himself and the other two out that the rest of the world down there had slipped his mind. He wondered what’d become of the rundown abandoned apartment they’d broken into and decided to claim as their home. Or what had become of some of the other gangs who roamed the streets trying to lay claim to any sections they could bully into giving them money or food as payment. They probably had the run of things now that Levi and Farlan weren’t there to keep them in line.

           Levi sighed and looked out the window towards the direction of Wall Maria. Life seemed both simpler and more complicated now. He didn’t have to scrounge around for food, worrying about his next meal anymore. In theory, he didn’t have to worry about some ignorant kid trying to jump him to get initiated (and then subsequently getting his ass beat). If he was honest, even though he still wasn’t used to it, the simplicity of someone else making the call and orders for him relieved a lot of uncertainty from his shoulders. The regular routine was a welcome change.

           But the complicated part was that he didn’t know the rules of the game he was now a part of. There were bigger plots afoot in the world than he had ever conceived.  It was like someone had suddenly swapped all the checker pieces on his board for chess pieces and he had to learn all new strategies. Erwin had asked him to lend his strength to humanity. But he’d neglected to say what Levi would be doing once he did. He had a hard time believing that re-teaching the rest of the military was his sole plan. Erwin had secrets and plots. Levi wasn’t sure how much he trusted him just yet.

              The Underground seemed so small now in comparison to the huge world he’d been introduced to, the world he’d seen beyond the walls. It was ironic really; He’d finally gotten free of that dank, glorified cave and it still wasn’t enough. Even the presence of the ominous walls was still stifling, proof that someone still controlled his destiny other than himself. His mind drifted back to the people he’d known below. They weren’t all criminals down there, just some people down on their luck trying to stay alive. His eyes followed the movement of a pair of doves flying by. His mind was made: He was going to find a way to break out of these walls.

              “You going to punch those birds, Shorty?” Hanji asked from his right. Levi glanced over to see the other soldier leaning against the wall with crossed arms. He hadn’t heard anyone approach. A flash of irritation crossed his mind that he’d let his senses go soft.

              “What the hell are you talking about, Shitty Glasses?” He snapped.

              “You were looking at them like they insulted your mother or something,” Hanji replied calmly, glancing down at Levi’s hands. It was only then he realized they were clenched in fists. He took a breath and relaxed them, looking back out the window.

              “Its nothing,” He said quietly as the doves flew off out of sight. Hanji considered him for a moment, quietly.

              “You should come join us, we’re about to start a game of cards.”

              “I don’t play cards,” Levi replied, already exhausted by the conversation.

              “That sounds like someone who’s bad at cards,” Hanji jibbed. Levi shot the other soldier an irritated look. He received a smirk in return.

              “I’m not bad at cards.”

              “I have two theories. Either you have the best poker face the Walls have ever seen, or you have the worst poker face known to man. Care to be a test subject?”

              “You researching me again?” Levi asked incredulously.

              “I research everyone, it’s one of my endearing quirks,” Hanji grinned. Levi sighed and decided to just follow the grinning idiot.

* * *

           “Well well, look who decided to join us. The great masterminds,” Gelgar called out as Hanji and Levi entered the rec room. He shuffled a deck of well-worn cards, leaning back in the chair with a ridiculous green colored visor on his head. Mike and Nanaba sat at the table as well with stacks of old, slightly colored poker chips at each seat.

           “Oh get over yourself, Gelgar,” Nanaba shot at him. “Glad you decided to accept our invitation, Levi.”

           “What?! Its true! Levi’s the reason we have today off. And we know Hanji’s always plotting something,” Gelgar defended himself.

           “I take exception to that remark,” Hanji responded, sitting down. “I’m not always plotting. Sometimes I’m unraveling the mysteries of the universe.”

           Gelgar rolled his eyes at Hanji’s grin.

           “Yeah, yeah, fancy talk for lost in daydreams.”

           “That’s only true part of the time…”

           “Like when we’re learning about squad formations?” Mike piped up.

           “Not true, I always pay rapt attention in lecture!” Hanji defended. “The doodles help me concentrate.”

           Levi took a seat in the open chair, just listening to the banter go back and forth and observing how comfortable they all were with one another. The pang of loneliness from his missing friends started to creep back as he was reminded of Farlan and Isabel’s similar banter. Luckily he was quickly pulled out of his reverie by Gelgar.

           “So are we dealing you in?” Gelgar turned back to Levi. Levi lifted an eyebrow.

           “What’s the game?”

           “5 card draw,” Gelgar replied, continuing to shuffle the cards.

           “That poker?” Levi asked blandly. A chuckle ran through the group.

           “What?! You lived in the Underground and you’ve never played 5 card draw?!” Gelgar said incredulously. “Are you guys hearing this?”

           “This is going to be a fun game,” Nanaba commented, nudging Mike. Mike nodded and pulled out a large, ceramic jug and a set of glasses out of a cupboard. “Levi, you’ve got to try some of Mike’s whiskey. It’s a tradition after a successful mission, we all share a drink.”

           Levi grimaced.

           “Last time someone I saw someone drink homemade whiskey they went blind,” He commented as a glass was sent down in front of him.

           “We haven’t gone blind yet,” Nanaba grinned, taking a glass and raising it once everyone had received one. “To new comrades.”

           “To new comrades!” The rest of the Scouts cheered around Levi and they all took a drink. Levi reluctantly followed suit and took a drink. He wrinkled his nose at the sharp, pungent flavor as it hit the back of his throat, burning the entire way down. It definitely not the most polished alcohol he’d ever had. The group around him laughed, however, and Mike patted him on the shoulder as Gelgar started dealing cards.

           “Welcome to the team, Levi,” Hanji commented, the ever-present smile spread from ear to ear. Levi glanced around at the jovial group around him looking at him similarly to the way an adult looks at a confused child, suddenly getting the impression that they thought he must have lived some sheltered life prior to this. It dawned on him then that instead of having to jump a random person in an alleyway, this was his initiation. He then glanced down at the cards in front of him and in that moment made a decision. He took another drink from the cup.  

              “Alright, so,” He said as he pulled his cards towards him. “Tell me your rules.”

              Gelgar grinned like a wolf presented with a flock of lambs for slaughter and began explaining the rules to Levi who listened intently the entire time.

              “Alright, we all start with an ante where we all throw in a bet to start the pot off,” Gelgar said, sliding Levi his own stack of chips. Everyone at the table set a bid in front of them as directed and Levi followed suit. Gelgar continued. “Everyone gets dealt five cards. Based on what’s in your hand, you make a bet. If you think your hand is bad and you don’t have a devil’s chance of winning, you can fold. Everyone left in the round then gets to trade in up to three cards. There’s then another round of betting and at the end, we show our cards. Person with the best hand wins the pot.”

              “Sounds simple enough,” Levi stated. Gelgar chuckled.

              “If you say so, here we go. You start, Hanji.”

              “Alright so,” Hanji began explaining, setting a small stack of chips near the center of the table. “You can either ‘call’ the bet which means matching it or, if you think you have a good hand, you can ‘raise’ which means increasing the bet for everyone after you.”

              “Ok,” Levi nodded, mimicking Hanji and placing the same number of chips in front of him. “Call.”

              “Call,” Said Nanaba.

              “Call,” Repeated Mike.

              “Call,” stated Gelgar. “Alright, who needs new cards?”

              Most of the table traded in two and three cards. Except for Levi who only traded in one. The rest of the table glanced at one another, but didn’t say anything. The next round of betting started.

              “Call,” Hanji said, adding chips to the stack.

              “Raise and I’ll double,” Levi set another stack in front of him, twice the size of the one before. The rest of the table glanced at one another again.

              “Got a good hand there, Levi?” Gelgar asked.

              “You’ll find out, won’t you?” Levi responded evenly. Both Nanaba and Mike called. Gelgar raised his bet. They all then set down their cards. Nanaba glanced over at Levi’s cards.

              “Levi,” She started. “Do you know what sort of hand you’re supposed to be making?”

              “They’re all the same color. That counts right?” Levi asked. Gelgar, glanced over to see a random combination of hearts and diamonds in Levi’s hand, not a single pair or legitimate play to be found. He cracked up laughing.

              “What?! Are you serious?!” He nearly fell out of his chair.

              “Don’t be a jerk, Gelgar!” Nanaba scolded him. “Here, I’ll explain it to you…”

              And she proceeded to explain the different types of card combinations and which ones were preferable all of which Levi listened to carefully. Hanji watched Levi quietly through the exchange, keeping him just on the edge of peripheral vision.

              Levi lost the first couple of hands so miserably it was laughable. And his squad mates did, in fact laugh, as Mike poured more booze in everyone’s glasses. Nanaba continued trying to give Levi pointers on the game as Gelgar gloated over his clearly superior poker playing ability, easily winning most of the hands being played. An hour or so in, and a couple more cups of the whiskey ,Gelgar in all his brilliant glory suggested they up the ante further.

              “Really? Strip poker, Gelgar?” Nanaba exclaimed incredulously.

              “Why not?! Let’s make it more interesting. And harnesses only count as one piece of clothing,” Gelgar stated firmly.

              “You only want to play strip poker so you can get the rest of us naked,” Nanaba protested further. “He always does this once he gets drunk.”

              Gelgar looked across the table at Levi, challenge glinting in his slightly bleary eyes. Levi looked over the overhand grip of his cup impassively at Gelgar. “What do you say, Levi? Rules are simple: Once you run out of chips, you trade an item of clothing in for more.”

              “Sure, why not,” He responded, taking another sip from his glass. Hanji glanced at him again with a calculating look. Gelgar grinned devilishly.

              “The rest of you in?” He slurred slightly.

              “Yeah, I guess so,” Mike said.

              “Ugh...I suppose,” Nanaba sighed.

              “I’m out,” Hanji stated.

              “Oh come on, Hanji!” Gelgar whined. A shake of the head was the response he got.

              “Nope, you can’t pressure me into it. I’m not as drunk as the rest of you to get roped into this,” Hanji leaned back in the chair, throwing another glance over at Levi who sat cool as a cucumber in his seat, seeming unfazed by the rule change.

              “Well, then, just the four of us. Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?” Levi set his glass down. Gelgar dealt the next hand.

              An hour later Nanaba declared she was out, already down to her undershirt and uniform pants, viciously accusing Gelgar of being a pervert.

              Half an hour after that, Mike bowed out as well, bereft of his top and his shoes.

              Gelgar, who’d so far only lost his jacket and boots, drunkenly grinned at Levi across the table who’d similarly lost his jacket, boots, and cravat.

              “So Little Man, you still in?” Gelgar asked, reclining comfortably in his seat and certain of his impending victory. He froze in place when Levi pinned him with an intense, crystal clear glare. Gelgar could have sworn he saw Levi’s eyes flash just like an angry cat’s.

              “Of course. Deal,” Levi was all he replied, though, taking another drink from his glass. Gelgar gulped slightly and obliged.

              He then lost the next two hands. Badly.

              “What the hell? You suddenly learn how to play or something?” Gelgar looked down on the small stack of chips he had left, then back up at Levi. The dark haired man sat comfortably in his seat, lazily swirling the rest of his drink around in his glass, corner of his mouth ticked up in a smirk. Gelgar felt his blood run cold.

              “You going to deal the cards or keep running your mouth?” Levi said. Gelgar gritted his teeth and dealt the next hand. Levi peeled up the corners of his cards on the table to glance at them. He then opened the bet by raising right away, sliding four large stacks of chips into the center of the table.

              “Oh please, you’re bluffing! Your hand isn’t that good!” Gelgar exclaimed.

              “Am I?” Levi replied, coolly. “Looks like you don’t have enough chips to meet the current bet, Gelgar.” Hanji snerked, and Nanaba crossed her arms in amusement.

              “Well, well, Gelgar, looks like you finally met your match,” She commented, smugly. “Finally someone who can whoop your ass at this damn game.”

              “This is bullshit!” Gelgar protested further. “He’s bluffing!”

              “You gonna play the game or keep flapping your lips, Bitch Brigade?” Levi continued swirling his glass. Gelgar grumbled and took off his shirt, pulling more chips out of their container in exchange.

              “Fine, I’ll see your raise,” Gelgar replied, placing his chips in the center of the table.

              “Great,” Levi responded. “I’ll just need one card then, please.”

              “What? One! You are so full of shit!”

              “Card?”

              Gelgar grumbled and slid Levi a fresh card. For his own hand, he traded out two. Gelgar peeled up the corners of his cards: a set of heart cards now greeted his eyes running 9 through 5. A solid hand. The pretender across the table needs a damn good hand in order to beat this, he thought.

              “Let’s up the ante some, shall we?” Levi spoke up, glancing at the clock. Gelgar looked up to see Levi push his entire pool of chips into the center of the table. Gelgar gaped. “Let’s go all in. Loser of this hand ditches all his clothes and has to sit around in the buff for the next half hour.”

              “There is no way your hand is that good!” Gelgar exclaimed. Levi quirked an eyebrow.

              “I think you’re protesting an awful lot, Gelgar,” Hanji spoke up. “If you think you’re such a great player, you shouldn’t have a problem meeting his bet.”

              Gelgar gritted his teeth. He had a great hand. There was nothing he should be worried about. But there was something about the glint in Levi’s eyes that was making him nervous. Even if Gelgar folded, given the size that Levi had raised the bet to, he’d still have to trade in the rest of his clothing just to keep playing. Besides, the last time Levi only traded one card, he had nothing at all in his hand.

              “Fine. All in,” Gelgar pushed the last of his chips into the pot and flipped his cards over. “Read ‘em and weep, new guy!”

              Levi looked dispassionately over at Gelgar’s cards and then glanced up to catch Gelgar’s eye. The smirk returned and Gelgar knew he was in trouble.

              “Straight flush, that’s a good hand,” Levi commented. He then flipped his cards over.

              “Holy shit, a royal flush?!” Nanaba cried out as the faces of the diamond court cards, an Ace and a 10 laid on the table. Hanji started laughing so hard that the chair nearly fell over.

              “YES! YOU OWE ME MONEY GELGAR!” Hanji exclaimed after gasping for air.

              “How the fuck...Did you fucking shark me?!” Gelgar pounded his hands on the table.

              “Did you really think I had no idea how to play poker?” Levi continued smirking at him. “This whiskey is good, by the way Mike. Not the strongest I’ve had but not bad.”

              “YOU’RE NOT EVEN DRUNK?!”

              “Clock’s ticking, Bitch Brigade. You lost so its time to pay up.”

              Nanaba joined Hanji’s laughter.

              “You’ve met your match, Gelgar! TAKE IT OFF!”

              “This is bullshit! He cheated!” Gelgar continued protesting. “You just want to see me naked!”

              “Oh please, trust me whiny jackasses like you are not my type. I’m still waiting,” Levi  replied.

              “He’s right, Gelgar,” Mike finally chimed in, amusement playing across his face. “He played fair and square. You got over confident...again.”

              “Don’t side with him!” Gelgar shouted.

              “TAKE IT OFF! TAKE IT OFF!” Nanaba started chanting, Hanji soon joining in so that the two soldiers were beating their fists on the table in rhythm with their chant. Gelgar’s face turned the shade of a tomato but since he was a man of his word, he stripped out of his remaining clothing and sat down, using his shirt to cover the wooden chair under him. Not two minutes later, the rec room door opened and their comrades started filtering into the room, free from training and looking to relax.

              “GELGAR! What the hell?! Put on some clothes, man!”

              “UGH! Gelgar that’s not cool!”

              “Hey Gelgar, nice pecs!”

              Gelgar seethed with a mix of anger and embarrassment.

              Hanji and Nanaba collapsed to the floor, barely able to breathe from their laughter.

              Levi smirked with a self satisfaction that his timing had worked out perfectly. Initiation passed without needing to raise a single fist. He decided, probably for the first time ever, that he liked it here.

              Gelgar didn’t live down his loss for sometime.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was difficult to write. You see, I've never played poker before and know next to nothing about it other than there are cards and plastic chip.   
> So once the characters notified me they wanted to play poker (and yes, they told me rather than me deciding ::sigh:: ) I had to then give myself a crash course in the game to make it believable. Hopefully I succeeded!
> 
> I also firmly believe Levi is the biggest trolls to grace the Walls, second only to Erwin. I'm fairly certain this last scene is what cements Hanji's friendship with him for life and now there are plots a foot of what other trouble they can cause together.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The retraining of the Survey Corps proceeds successfully as Squad Erwin shares their new found knowledge. The Corps then suits up and heads out for another expedition, far sooner than any of the Scouts excepted. And they find something none of them ever even considered was possible...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you everyone for your kudos and kind comments so far! I am terrible at responding to them, but I truly appreciate each and every one and hope that you will continue with me on this Veteran's journey! Since it was asked: Yes, my end goal is to follow the Veterans up to and including the Fall of Shiganshina. I really look forward to exploring their point of view of what happened. (More notes at the end...)

       The retraining of the squad went exceedingly well and soon Squad Erwin received the responsibility of  retraining the entirety of the Survey Corps in the new understanding of how to maximize the effectiveness of their 3-dimensional maneuver gear in combat. Luckily, Hanji took point on teaching it out, lecturing with painstakingly detailed diagrams which broke down the new style in easy to understand chunks. All the others had to do was demonstrate the more technical aspects, explaining the change in how to work with the gear and gravity. Levi appreciated this set up as he never really considered himself much of a teacher. Not that this stopped younger Scouts from approaching him for tutoring, of course...

       “Hey...um...Levi?”

       Levi grimaced and froze mid step as he was about to head back inside the barracks from the training field. He glanced back over his shoulder at a tall, sandy blonde male and a dark haired female looking at him with wide imploring eyes. He repressed a sigh.

       “What?” Levi asked, more sharply than he intended. The girl shrank back a step, so the guy with her spoke up.

       “Sorry for bothering you but...we were wondering if you could show us that one spin you do again,” He asked, tentatively. Levi frowned.

       “You should ask Hanji for any special lessons,” Levi dismissed them, turning back towards the barracks.

       “But…” The female spoke up. “Well...you’re the only one who can do that spin that way. Hanji’s great at explaining things in general but we’d really appreciate your help in figuring out the particulars.”

       Levi sighed.

       “Please?”

       Levi turned around and started heading back towards to the training field.

       “Fine, but I’m only going to show it to you once, so pay attention.”

       “Yes! Thank you, Levi!”

       Half an hour later, and Levi could be found still tutoring the other Scouts.

       “No you… look, you have to get the momentum first. You’re not pushing off hard enough,” Levi called out from the ground, looking up at one of the Scouts who was attempting to mimic Levi’s signature spin.

       “Oh! I get it, like this!” The Scout kicked off a tree harder, flying through the air and spinning to slice the nape off the titan target. “YEAH!”

       The crowd that had gathered around to watch the extra training session cheered at the dark haired scout as she landed in a nearby tree.

       “Like that, Levi?”

       “Well… you don’t suck,” Levi stated, actually suitably impressed with the speed in which she was able to learn the new maneuvering style. The girl paused a moment, considering Levi who stood leaning against a tree with his arms crossed. She then beamed, taking the statement as a compliment from him.

       “Thank you, sir!”

       “Sir?” Levi flashed a disturbed expression as the girl jumped from the tree  and met up with some of her friends who were waiting for her to finish. Levi heard a soft thud as someone leaned on the tree next to him.

       “Seems like you have people looking up to you already,” Hanji said. Levi didn’t have to look to know there was a stupid grin plastered across Hanji’s face.

       “You sound like Erwin.”

       “Erwin’s a smart man. Conniving, but smart,”A voice chimed in. Levi turned to see Hanji's two brothers joining them in the conversation. Shura, who had just spoken, leaned against the tree in the same fashion as Hanji while the gaggle of other Scouts started to head back inside.

       “You think highly of him,” Levi said, not so much a question as it was a statement.

       “I do," Hanji replied. "He’s next in line to be Commander, no doubt about it. And he has a very strong interest in learning more about the Titans and the Walls."

       “That so?” Levi asked, suddenly intensely interested in what Hanji had to say.

       “Indeed. He’s extremely secretive about it though. He sought me out once to have an intense conversation about the time I was picked up by the Military Police for trying to dig a tunnel under the Walls.”

       “...Wait, what?” Levi turned, shocked at the concept of anyone trying to dig their way out of the Walls.

       "We've never really been able to stop Zoe from anything..." Alexis groaned, hanging his head.

       "I can't say I'm surprised," Levi mumbled.

       "To be fair, I don't think we actually took the idea seriously until the Military Police showed up on our doorstep..." Shura pondered aloud.

       “The Military Police always mucks everything up,” Hanji responded.

       "You were digging a hole under the Wall to the outside! Where there are things trying to eat us!" Alexis exclaimed.

       "For science! We need to know the limitations of our own defenses in order to strengthen them AND better understand the Titans! Why can't they just dig under the walls? What is limiting them? Is it a lack of intelligence or ability? Or is it something about the design of the Walls themselves?! We have no data on how they were built or schematics about them except for the gates!" Hanji monologued triumphantly.

       "And that is what our dear sibling was rattling off when the MPs knocked," Shura explained to Levi who was just quietly watching their banter. It was, ironically, a little comforting. “This was, of course, before enlisting…”

       "I think we were able to convince them that Hanji was a little touched in the head so they wouldn't press charges," said Alexis.

       "They insistent on questioning me on what I knew about the Walls. They seemed satisfied to know that I didn't actually know much," Hanji grumbled.

       "And this got Erwin's attention?" Levi asked, attempting to re-direct the conversation back to the original topic.

       "In true Zoe fashion, there was a loud conversation about it in the Mess Hall not long after Zoe's graduation ceremony," Shura reached over and pulled Hanji into a hug which looked suspiciously like a head lock. "Its one of your most endearing qualities!"

       "Ah! Off! Get off!" Hanji grabbed at the grappling arm.

       "Erwin took notice at that," Alexis continued as Hanji pushed Shura off in what looked to Levi to be a well rehearsed tradition of sibling antics.

       “Erwin was very interested to know how deep I had gotten, what I’d seen, what the Military Police said or could have possibly let on. He’s definitely got a vendetta about the Walls. I’m not positive as to why, though. He doesn't give much information away," Hanji replied.

       "That's sort of his MO, though," Alexis stated. "He's like a chess player. Most of the Corps knows it by now. Rumor has it that's why it took Shadis so long to adopt his proposal for the Long Range Expedition formation. He was paranoid about being ousted by him."

       "We'd probably be better off if he did..." Shura commented in an off-hand manner.

       "Hey! Commander Shadis is still the Commander and still garners our respect!" Hanji scolded.

       "Come on Hanji, everyone knows Erwin would be a better commander. Shadis never comes back with anything but losses unless he listens to Erwin's ideas," Shura retorted.

       "Its not appropriate talk and could get you in serious trouble."

       "You know, while I agree with you, that is somewhat ironic coming from you..." Alexis chimed in.

       Levi quietly took in all the information and perspectives he had been presented with. That sort of dynamic would certain explain the conversation he had heard between the two before.

       "As much as I hate to admit it, Hanji's right. I've seen plenty of groups crumble from power struggles like that before. Seems to me the Corps needs all the support it can get," He commented, thinking. Hanji looked at him and frowned.

       "Hey Shorty?”

       Levi scowled in irritation at the nicknamed he’d apparently been granted.

       “What?” He snapped.

       “Are you feeling alright? Your face is all red.”

       “Huh?”

* * *

       “How did you get sunburn from standing under trees? HA HA HA!” Gelgar roared with laughter as Nanaba carefully applied some cooling poultice devised by Hanji to Levi’s face. The three of them, as well as Mike and Hanji, sat in the Rec Room whilst tending to Levi’s horrifically red hands and face.

       “Shut it, Gelgar, no one asked for you to flap your lips. Any air coming out of you would be more useful coming out the other end,” Levi sneered at him, grumpy about the sensation of his face being on fire. The unfortunate side effect was that the movement from scowling made the burning sensation feel worse. “Ugh!”

       Nanaba frowned in front of him.

       “To be fair, we were on the platform for a good portion of the day while the rest of the Corps was practicing,” She spoke up, leaning back and wiping the rest of the poultice off her hands after having finished applying it.

       “Growing up in the Underground, his skin’s not used constant direct sun exposure,” Hange spoke up, sitting on top of the poker table.

       “Yes, thank you for pointing out my shitty life story,” Levi snapped. He looked down at the paste on the back of his hands. “What the hell is this, anyway? I feel disgusting.”

       “Its a potato paste with a blend of mint and lavender. It should soothe the burn and help it heal faster.”

       Levi still frowned at the thin layer covering his skin.

       “Well, I suppose it is helping…” He grumbled. To his side, he heard a sniff. “Dammit, Mike!”

       “What? I think it helps,” Mike grinned at him. Levi was about to shoot back a biting response when Moblit popped his head in the room.

       “Hey guys, evening muster. Shadis wants everyone to be there.”

       “Its a muster, he always wants everyone to be there,” Nanaba responded sardonically.

       “Well...yeah,” Moblit responded sheepishly. “But he said he has an announcement so to make sure everyone was definitely there.”

       “Alright,” Hange hopped off the table. “We’re on our way!”

       Levi became progressively more grateful for the potato concoction as they lined up for evening muster, the horrific burning sensation starting to fade a bit.

       “ATTEEEEENTION!”

       The Corps snapped to attention as Shadis walked out in front of them, striding with purpose in front of the line of soldiers. His step only faltered for a moment as he passed Levi, confusedly looking at his bright red skin covered in a thin layer of paste out of the corner of his eye. Levi shot him a death glare and Shadis redirected his attention right back to his destination on the platform in front of the Corps.

       “At ease!” Shadis called. The soldiers shifted positions. “Reports tell me you’re all doing excellent at learning the new fighting style. That’s good. You’ll need it. We’ve been approved for another expedition.”

       A wave of murmuring rippled through the soldiers.

       “Already?” Nanaba said.

       “It’s only been three months since the last one,” Mike commented.

       “We’re aiming to head out in the next two weeks,” Shadis bellowed over the commotion, causing all the soldiers to fall silent once again. “Your squad leaders will be discussing your individual assignments and the goals of the mission during the upcoming weeks. Continue your new training, you’ll be needing it. Dismissed!”

       With that, Shadis started back inside, some of the other Squad Leaders falling in step beside him. A heaviness settled on the Corps, like a damp blanket weighing down on all of their shoulders. Well, all except for Hanji whose eyes got wide with excitement behind dirty goggles.

       "Hanji, I can feel you thinking it, please please PLEASE don't say it!" Gelgar begged with exasperation as the rest of the Corps headed in towards dinner.

       "We're going on an expedition! Think of all the Titans we'll see!" Hanji said, hands clapped together enthusiastically.

       "There is something not right with you," Gelgar started trudging back inside but got no reprieve from his excited comrade.

       "But imagine all the things that we could learn!"

       "Hey, Shitty Glasses," Levi called out. Hanji paused mid-stride and turned towards. "I've been wondering. Do they actually let you do research on these creatures?"

       Gelgar snerked and Hange shot him a scolding look.

       "Other than strict observation from formation...no. But I've been working on my proposals for more direct research! I just haven't gotten a chance to present them yet," Hanji trailed off.

       "So you're not really a Titan researcher yet then," Levi clarified.

       "On the contrary! A great deal of things can be learned from observation! Really, the entire basis of modern scientific research methods is the concept that all things in the world can be learned through strategic and systematic observation, so..." Hanji continued to rattle on about the scientific method and the theories behind it as Gelgar hung back to whisper to Levi.

       "Now you've done it. We'll have to hear this through the rest of dinner."

       "Could be worse," Levi commented. "We could be listening to you talk through the rest of dinner."

       "Ugh, rude."

* * *

       Two weeks later, the gates to Wall Maria opened again and the Scouting Regiment rode forth into another expedition beyond the Walls to complete the mission they'd failed prior. As the huge slab of rock and metal lurched upwards with a chorus of creaking and clanking chains, Levi felt the exhilarating thrill of true freedom start to rise in his chest as they surged forth into the wide open unknown of the land beyond the Walls. He looked up towards the sky and inhaled the air. It didn't seem to make sense that one stack of glorified rocks could make such a difference in the feel of the land and the scent of the wind but he swore up and down that it did. He turned his head to the side to share the moment with Farlan and then...remembered he wasn't there. Instead Hanji rode next to him, watching him with a sidelong glance. Once Levi made eye contact, a sympathetic smile was offered, almost as if Hanji knew what he was thinking. Levi quickly returned his gaze forward.

        _"What is it with this guy? It's like he sees everything..."_

       The typical Scouting Legion expedition, when not cut suddenly short by disaster, could last anywhere from several days to perhaps a week or more. It would depend largely on their success of investigating and Scouting the terrain, as well as how many Titans they ran into. Previous missions led to a fairly successful mapping of the surrounding area and establishment of several outposts which served well as stop over points during the expedition. This particular expedition sent the Scouts to a south western location to set up a new outpost near an area that had remained as of yet largely unexplored.

       The start of the mission was largely uneventful. The Long Range Scouting formation worked as intended and they were able to avoid any troublesome run ins with Titans. The Scouts spent a few nights out at various outposts that had previously been secured and were able to investigate an area that they had not yet added to their maps. After a few days out, they turned around to head back to Wall Maria, mission so far successful.

       But as with all things, it's when something is going too smoothly that the unexpected occurs.

       The formation was heading home on their pre-plotted course along the edge of their known map, an area that had been scouted some time ago and never revisited as there were no particularly useful resources to be found there. Along the way, a messenger from one of the other units galloped up to the central column, bee-lining for the Command group.

       "Commander!" The messenger shouted. "One of the outside scouting units found something that wasn't on our maps!"

       "What is it?" Shadis shouted back.

       "It looks like a village, sir!"  The messenger replied, disconcerted look on his face.

       “What?” Erwin called out. “A village? This far out?”

       "You need to come see this!"

       Shadis and Erwin exchanged a look, and Shadis gave the command to adjust course.

* * *

       "Shadis," Erwin said cautiously. "This place..."

       "I know," Shadis said quietly. "It looks like people still live here."

       Before them stood a small village, stumbled upon by an outside unit in the formation, its buildings standing stately in well planned rows, yards neatly kept, tools still leaning against fences and next to doorways. However, there was not a single resident in sight.

       Erwin hopped off his horse and cautiously strode to where Mike and Hanji stood next to Levi, who was crouching and squinting at the ground.

       "This ground looks like it was recently swept to hide footprints," Levi commented as he approached.

       "There's still faint smell of people on the air as well," Mike added, head tilted upwards slightly as he sniffed.

       "So this was just recently abandoned," Erwin stated.

       "Seems that way," Hanji replied, looking around. "In a calm and orderly fashion as well."

       Hanji zeroed in on a nearby house, and strode over to it. The doorknob was locked however.

       "We might find more clues inside some of these buildings," Hanji called out. "We'll need to break in though."

       "Hang on," Levi stood up and crossed the door, pulling out a small stiletto he'd kept hidden somewhere on his person and deftly picked the lock.

       "Oh you HAVE to teach me how to do that!" Hanji chirped excitedly, and went inside.

       Inside the house was neatly kept, a everything a regular home would need stowed correctly in its place with the exception of a kitchen knife lying next to a pile of half chopped lettuce.

       "This was abandoned extremely recently," Hanji said, moving further into the house as Erwin loomed in the door behind them to see what was going on. “The lettuce hasn’t even wilted.”

       "Hanji," Levi said, standing before an end table next to the fireplace. Both Hanji and Erwin turned to look and saw Levi holding up a child's doll with yellow yarn hair, blue button eyes, and a blue cornflower dress.

       "A child lives out here?" Hanji said, suddenly extremely concerned.

       "I want to know exactly what's going on here," Erwin stated and he swiftly spun and marched back to Shadis who had since demounted his horse. "Sir, it looks like there were people living here recently. Families with children."

       Shadis gave him a concerned and confused look.

       "What?"

       "We need to tear this place apart," Erwin said with earnest. Shadis nodded.

       "Spread out! Investigate this entire village, we need to know who's been living here and how they've lasted this long! Search every house!" Shadis commanded. "The outer Scouting units, keep an eye on the perimeter for potential threats!"

       And the Survey Corps began their investigation of the mysterious village beyond the Walls.

       "Erwin," Shadis spoke quietly as the soldiers investigated. "These buildings aren't new."

       "I was thinking the same thing," Erwin replied in an equally hushed tone. "If this village has been here awhile, why wasn't it on any of our maps?"

       "This area hasn't been explored since before I became commander," Shadis said. "To date, any proposals to investigate this portion of the landscape have been denied. We'd always thought it was due to funding such an out of the way venture."

       Shadis paused, then glanced at Erwin.

       "Just what did you say to when you proposed this expedition, by the way?" Shadis asked.

       "I may have made some slight changes to the trajectory after we were approved," Erwin commented. Shadis chuckled and shook his head.

       "I wonder if the Doctor knows anything about this place," Shadis trailed off.

       "You have yet to introduce me to him," Erwin stated. "I think it would be beneficial if-"

       "In good time, Squad Leader," Shadis cut him off, reminding Erwin of his current position. Erwin simply fell stoically silent "We still need to keep a low profile and if the fact we found this place gets out..."

       Shadis trailed off. Erwin nodded, frustrated, but understanding.

       "Very well."

       Hange, Levi, and Mike continued searching houses.

       "This is strange," Mike said as they entered another house. "Why would anyone bring their family out here?"

       "I can't say I blame them," Levi replied, looking around the room as Hanji moved straight for a writing desk in the corner.

       "You'd bring kids out here with all the Titans roaming around?" Mike challenged him. Levi have an irritated sigh.

       "No, I suppose not," Levi gruffly acquiesced. "It looks like they've been out here for awhile though. There's quite a bit of soot on this fireplace."

       "Ah! Guys, look at this!" Hanji exclaimed, pulling a sheet of parchment from the writing desk. "Its a map of the area!"

       "What?" Mike rushed over as the "pop" of a flare gun sounded outside and followed by shouting.

       "Abnormals sighted!"

       "Shit," All three soldiers rushed from the house to see where the flare had come from. They turned west to see the original plume of black smoke.

       “Saddle up to provide back up!” Shadis shouted. “Which units are over there and how many Abnormals, soldier?”

       “Three sir! Unit 4-C!”

       “Three?! We need to get over there as quickly as possible,” Shadis lept up on to his horse as the Scouts around him followed suit, waiting for him to lead the charge.

       Hanji froze in terror at the news, staring horrified at the plume of black smoke hanging in the otherwise cloudless sky.

       "No..."

       "Hanji?" Mike turned, concerned at the uncharacteristic tone. Hanji spun on heel, and raced to the horse that awaited its rider, galloping off before anyone could stop the soldier. "Hanji wait for the rest of us!"

       A few seconds later, a memory clicked in Levi's mind. He raced to his horse as well and leapt atop it as Erwin called after him.

       "Levi?!" Erwin shouted but Levi rode off without a look back, keen eyes zeroed in on the treeline in front of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some character thoughts...
> 
> I have a manager I work with who's absolutely hilarious and a great guy to work with. He has a high standard of quality, however, so its very difficult to get praise out of him. He has two grading scales. If he likes your work, he says "You don't suck". If he loves your work, he says "you're a rockstar!".
> 
> "You don't suck" seemed a highly appropriate way for Levi to give praise to me. :) Also, Gelgar and Levi's rivalry cracks me up. It wasn't initially intended, it just sort of happened.
> 
> I also really enjoy finding where the Veteran's differing strengths lie which is what makes Squad Erwin such a powerhouse. Hanji with the analysis, Mike with the sense of smell. Levi has always struck me as the rogue of the group, so it made sense to me that he had picked up related skills living in the Underground.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Survey Corps has had a successful expedition so far, but after stumbling across a well-lived in village that wasn't on any of their maps, their outer columns are attacked by three Abnormals which appeared out of nowhere. Hanji rushes towards the field of battle, praying for a miracle but fearing the worst as streaks of black stretch towards the sky.

         The mystery village sat near a copse of trees that, while not a full forest, was large enough to block the view of the conflict occurring on the other side where the smoke flares erupted from. Hanji pushed the horse as fast as was possible through the trees, praying against hope that the squad on other side had already dispatched the Abnormals they'd just signaled about. The squad that housed both of Hanji's brothers was an extremely capable group of soldiers and there was no reason to think that they would be unable to handle a stray Titan or two, even if it were an Abnormal. Hanji chose to purposely ignore that three signals had been fired, an illusion that was quickly shattered.

         The sight that greeted Hanji as the horse screeched to a halt at the tree line was a bloody massacre of soldiers strewn about the feet of two, looming 15 meter Abnormal Titans, one blonde with eyes that took up most of its face and one dark haired with a mouth that never closed fully, dripping drool at a steady rate as it looked over the bodies for something still living to chew on. A third, 7 meter Abnormal skittered about around them, moving erratically to and fro with seemingly no destination in mind. The scream of one soldier was abruptly cut short as the blonde Titans chomped down on its latest meal with a sickening, wet crunch. Hanji stared, briefly dumbfounded by the carnage and desperately looking for signs of Alexis and Shura, terrified when their presences were not immediately apparent.

         "ZOE!" Alexis shouted a moment later, riding his horse like a bat out of hell around the wide base of the blonde Titans' feet. Hanji instantly whipped fresh blades out of their containers at the sight up him and spurred the horse into a gallop to join in battle with the Titans. The movement quickly caught the eye of the dark hair 20 meter and Hanji could tell it was about to move after them.

         "THERE'S TOO MANY WE NEED TO RETREAT, ZOE!" Alexis shouted with urgency at the sight of Hanji’s blades. He already splattered with the blood of his compatriots as the tattered remnants of his cloak flapped around him.

         "WHERE'S SHURA?" Hanji called back, catching up with Alexis now and starting to turn the horse to ride alongside him. Alexis' only response was to press his lips together and continue staring straight ahead towards the treeline as a deep series of thuds headed towards them, shaking the ground. As realization of what Alexis meant dawned, Hanji's vision flooded with red and a snap decision was made before rational thought had the opportunity to protest. A quick tug of the reigns and a flick of fingers sent Hanji soaring through the air as two anchors sank into the flesh of the dark haired Abnormal who had just about caught up with them.

         "DAMMIT ZOE, NO!" Alexis cried out, but it was too late. His remaining sibling was already flying towards the nape of the nearest target. The huge beast, faster than it appeared, swung a hand to grab at Hanji in midair but the wild soldier anticipated the grab and switched direction a split second before the massive hand closed. Alexis growled to himself in frustration and fear before re-engaging his own 3DMG and leaping off his horse into the air.

         Hanji was enraged, mind bent towards the single minded slaughter of these creatures where they stood. A series of switchback maneuvers, using the flesh of the Titan itself to anchor the gear, placed Hanji at the perfect angle to slice into the nape of the Abnormal. Hanji had just started spinning to deliver the fatal blow when Hanji became suddenly aware of a grave miscalculation: Almost as if in slow motion, the forgotten blonde 20 meter Titan appeared next to the dark haired one, freakishly large eyes completely filling Hanji’s field of vision. Time sped back up in Hanji's perception then, the new Abnormal snatching out at lightning speed to grab Hanji. There wasn't enough time to change trajectory and Hanji thought for sure it was the end.

         In that exact moment, Alexis flung himself directly into the palm of the grasping Titan, bodily pushing Hanji out of the way as he did. Hanji tumbled out of the air, landing awkwardly on the shoulder of the dark hair Titan whilst the grungy, bloody fingers of the blonde wrapped around Alexis to pluck him out of the sky. Alexis cried out in pain as the Titan squeezed.

         "ALEXIS NO!" Hanji scrambled to regain steady footing, attempting to leap back off in a mad rush. Just as Hanji pushed off to leap after him, though, the dark haired Abnormal’s hand shot up and snatched Hanji by the leg, yanking the would-be-rescuer back around through the air to stare at the gnat that had been irritating it. Hanji's extra blades went flying loose from their containers, clattering on to the ground next to the other bodies of their fallen comrades. It was only then, watching the blades fall, that Hanji finally saw Shura down below, still coughing up blood from his clearly mutilated, dying body. He turned his terror filled eyes skyward to see Hanji dangling above him. Shura tried to lift a hand towards his sibling and Hanji clearly saw him mouth their names before the 7 meter Titan, also nearly forgotten, skittered over to bite off Shura’s head.

         The Abnormal that had caught Hanji was currently just dangling the soldier in the air by one leg, inspecting its catch with what one might construe as curiosity. It Titan’s reaction was lost to the usually research minded Hanji as the soldier was instead flailing wildly in an attempt to get free from the Titan's grasp, screaming Alexis and Shura's names but only succeeding in breaking the last two blades attached to the 3DMG grips off in the fingers of the Titan.

         "ZOE!" Alexis shouted through a strained voice. Hanji craned around to see Alexis being held over the other Titan's gaping, open maw. Hanji reached towards him in vain and Alexis opened his mouth to shout something, but it was cut short by the wretched teeth of the Titan biting him two.

         "No," Hanji whispered, then screamed. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

         Hanji didn't even realize the dark haired Titan was lifting its arm to deliver the same treatment, wretched screams of pain echoing across the field until Hanji's throat was raw and tears dripped down to rain on the dead bodies below. Nothing else in the world existed in that moment except the terrible reality that Hanji’s beloved brothers were dead. Not even the disgusting, drooling mouth below made any difference to the world that had just been shattered.

         It was the whir and zing of a 3DMG anchor that snapped Hanji back, at least partially, into reality when a forest green blur shot passed and cleanly sliced off the fingers that gripped Hanji. Another whir-zing and blur later and Hanji was caught in mid-air from falling over 15 meters towards the ground. It wasn't until they somehow landed safely closer to the treeline that Hanji realized the rescuer was Levi.

         He set Hanji down on the ground, having ejected his blades from their grips earlier after slicing the Titan's fingers off to avoid stabbing his comrade. Hanji fell to the ground immediately, panting for breath.

         "Hanji," Levi said calmly despite the background soundtrack of the wounded Abnormal Titan howling from its injury. Luckily, as of yet, they hadn’t seen where the two Scouts had rushed off too thanks to Levi’s astonishing speed.

         "They're both...they're both..." Hanji croaked out from raw vocal cords.

         "Hanji, we need to get out of here," Levi crouched down next to Hanji. He'd never considered himself a comforting person, actually he typically considered himself the worst possible candidate for the task, but he recognized that three Abnormal Titans against two Scouts, one of which was injured, was a fool's venture and their best chance of survival was to retreat quickly. And he needed Hanji calm enough to follow him out.

         "They're both..." Hanji kept repeating between gasps of air like a broken record.

         "Hanji, can you hear me? I need you to look at me," Levi was considering just picking Hanji up and leaving when the other soldier's head suddenly snapped up to look at the Abnormal Titans so quickly, Levi thought the Titans might be rushing them. In Levi's momentary distraction, Hanji slammed both empty grips on to two of Levi's extra blades, whipping them out of the container (while narrowly missing cutting off Levi’s hand), and running full speed towards the Titans with an animalistic scream of rage. Levi was held still where he crouching, dumbfounded and shocked at the inhuman sound issuing from the other Scout. The scene that unfolded before him was unlike anything he'd ever seen before and it kept him rooted in place, unable to look away or move himself to assist.

         As soon as Hanji took the field again, the skittering Titan, tongue lolling out of its mouth, beelined towards the movement, but Hanji quickly and easily leapt up, shot anchors into the shoulder of the 7 meter and swung around to slice it cleanly at the nape, killing it with ease. Hanji then fired the anchors into injured Titan's thigh and launched into the air, releasing and re-anchoring higher in the Titan's flesh to gain momentum and altitude. The Abnormal, already irritated from its previous injury failed wildly in an attempt to swat at the Scout, but Hanji kept dodging and spinning around it, deftly missing each swing as a rain of Titan blood showered down from its mutilated hand. Finally, with another scream of rage, Hanji flew down and landed on the Titan's back, slicing out its nape. As it began to fell forward, arms flung out wide on either side, Hanji sprinted down one of its massive arms towards the blonde Abnormal which was just now noticing the new commotion. At the last possible second before the dark haired Titan fully collapsed, Hanji fired both anchors into the second, miraculously piercing both of its huge, freakish eyes with an aimed shot Levi hardly believed was even possible.

         Using the gas propellant for added momentum, Hanji flung up and over the head of the now screaming Titan creature as it grasped at its face while milky white and bloody fluids oozing from its eye sockets. Hanji disengaged and recoiled the anchors just in time before Titan could grab them, kicking off the top of its head and somersaulting mid air to land on its back, slicing its nape clean out as well with a fresh spray of blood. The last thing Levi saw before the field was engulfed in the steam of decaying Titan flesh was Hanji riding the blonde Titan's head as it too fell to the ground with a thunderous crash. The soldier disappeared down into the quickly growing cloud of steam, screams of rage still echoing back to the tree line.

         "Levi!" Erwin's voice broke the trance that had pinned Levi to his spot. He turned to see Erwin ride up at a full gallop, the rest of his squad right behind him. Levi, for once, couldn't think of anything witty to say and instead just turned his gaze towards the billowing cloud of steam.

         “Levi, where’s Hanji?” Erwin asked, urgently. Levi simply nodded towards the cloud rolling over the land and for a brief moment, Erwin feared the worst.

         As the rest of the squad followed Levi’s gaze, Hanji slowly emerged from cloud, splatters of Titan blood steaming from the green cloak and messy brown hair of the soldier, one cracked goggle lens glinting in the sunlight. Truth be told, it looked as though some phantom of Death Incarnate walked towards them, fresh from its latest reaping. It was only as Hanji got closer and ejected the now spent blades were ejected from their grips that Levi noticed Hanji heavily favoring the leg that had been grabbed by the Titan and that Hanji’s eye kept blinking heavily behind the damaged goggles as though seeing was becoming difficult. Otherwise, Hanji simply stared at the ground with a blank face.

         For all the things Erwin had seen in his time in the Corps, even he was stunned by the sight before him.

         "How many?" He asked tentatively.

         "Three Abnormals," Levi took the liberty of speaking for Hanji who didn't react to the question. Erwin dreaded his next inquiry.

         "Survivors?"

         Neither Levi nor Hanji answered. Erwin took a deep breath and took charge of the scene, a practiced role he'd had to play many times before.

         "Hanji, it looks like your leg is too injured to ride by yourself. Levi, have Hanji ride with you back to the wagons and find the medic," He directed. Levi nodded. Hanji silently holstered the grips, the first sign of awareness displayed so far, and followed Levi to his horse. Erwin turned to Mike.

         "What's the field like? Will we be able to retrieve the bodies?" He asked quietly. Mike sniffed the air a few times.

         "If we do it quickly and they can be put on our horses," Mike replied. Erwin nodded somberly and gave the order. The rest of Squad Erwin quickly went to work to retrieve what of their fallen comrades they could.

         Levi quickly decided, despite as irritating as the other soldier could be, that he hated silent Hanji. The lack of vivacious chattering and excitement was unsettling and he didn't like it at all. It just felt wrong. But Levi wasn't sure what to say at the moment because, really, there wasn't anything he could say. He wasn't even sure Hanji would be able to hear it. Instead, he simply urged his horse faster to the rest of the regiment, beelining for the squad of medics. Hanji lightly gripped his waist to stabilize but gave no other reactions.

         It wasn't long after Moblit and the medics finished tending to Hanji that the rest of Squad Erwin returned, bloody wrapped bundles draped over the backs of their horses and the horse that Hanji had left behind. They loaded the bodies into a cart as Hanji was secured into a cart for the ride back. Once they were finished, Shadis gave the order to retreat back to Wall Maria.

         "Wait! Commander!" Erwin rushed over to Shadis. "We still haven't finished searching the village!"

         "This village wasn't in the scope of this mission, Erwin," Shadis replied, mounting his horse. "And we're not prepared to be this out in the open to search it further. We'll need to go out on another expedition later."

         "It could very well not be here when we try to come back," Erwin pressed in a low, urgent voice. “We have no idea when we’ll get approval to come out again!” Just then, another plume of black smoke streaked into the air from one of the other outer columns.

         "Believe me, I want to know more about this place too. But we're sitting ducks out here right now," Shadis replied gravely, done with the conversation. "SCOUTS! MOVE OUT! MAKE FOR SHIGANSHINA DISTRICT!"

         And Shadis rode towards the head of the formation without another word. The squad leader squeezed his hands into fists, turning to give one last look at the mysterious village beyond the Walls. He knew they were missing valuable information here. But as another black flare launched into the sky he was forced to acquiesce to Shadis' orders and he made his way back to his horse.

         The company moved with haste towards the safety of the Walls, leaving the village far behind them in an attempt to outrun the remaining Abnormals before they took too much interest in the fleeing humans. From the looks of the far off flares, though, not everyone was successful.

         They had been riding about an hour as hard as they could push the horses without injuring them when Hanji, until then sitting silently in the back of the medic cart, suddenly jolted upright.

         "Hanji?" Moblit turned around from his seat in the front of the cart at the sound of movement.

         "The map," Hanji stated through a rasping voice. "The map! Did anyone grab the map?!"

         "What map?" Moblit asked, confused by the statement.

         "The map! The map of the village! WE NEED THAT MAP!"

         "I haven't heard anything about a map..."

         "We need to go back!" Hanji shouted, trying to stand in the cart.

         "Hanji, please sit down! You'll injure your leg further!" Moblit started moving to climb into the back of the cart.

         Hearing a commotion, Levi maneuvered his horse closer to the wagon.

         "What's going on?" Levi asked Moblit. Hanji responded before Moblit could reply.

         "THE MAP! Did we grab the map?!"

         Levi frowned.

         "I don't think we did..."

         Hanji lurched towards the side of the cart, intending to climb over it.

         "WE HAVE TO GO BACK!"

         "Hanji," Levi said somberly, trusting his horse to lead the way so he could look Hanji directly in the eyes. They looked to be on the brink of tears, having difficulty focusing on his face. "We can't go back."

         Hanji swallowed, took a deep inhale, then ever so slowly sat back down in the cart. Hanji didn't move or say another word for the rest of the trip. Levi rode next to the cart the entire way back, formation be damned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something that always fascinated me about Hanji is how many small hints we've gotten but how very little we know about our intrepid scientist's past. Hanji once tells Eren that they were very similar, that once Hanji too used to fight the Titans out of sheer, white hot rage. And Isayama has stated that of the Veteran Trio, Hanji is the scariest when angry. So one of my goals the entire time writing this story has been to take a stab at Hanji's backstory a little, to look at that rage and see get to know Hanji before the mask of scientific researcher is put on fully. This is one of the first scenes I planned out way back when I started writing this story and have been most looking forward to.
> 
> Also for the record, this is not love story. I apologize for anyone who was waiting for a ship, but I am sticking solidly to Brotp for this. I hope you'll continue with me anyway though!


End file.
